The Battle of Britain - An Overview - Part 2
Pilots and mechanics from throughout the British Commonwealth, occupied Europe and volunteers from America raced to England to help with the defence.
Britain had been slow to re-arm as the war storm-clouds gathered and now its fleet of Hurricane, Blenheim, Defiant and Spitfire fighters were sorely tested by the more experienced pilots of the German Messerschmitt 109s.
Throughout the summer of 1940, these meagre and inadequate forces battled the numerically and technically superior Luftwaffe over the skies of southern England. Mechanics and fitters worked ceaselessly to keep aircraft in the air while their young aircrew fought and died at an unsustainable rate.
The ingenious control systems terminating in the Operations Rooms gave commanders their only chance of rationing their resources effectively, using the undamaged radar stations and a network of ground observers stationed throughout southern England.
